Hotel News Now: What is the most innovative hotel design in the world?
Tim Peck, chairman, OBM International: “For me it is a person who was inspirational to a new genre of hotel design: Ian Schrager. Starting with Studio 54 and then the Palladium (using Arata Isozaki as designer) nightclubs, he honed in on popular culture. He then brought that concept to the hotel industry with the Morgans Hotel in 1984. This was the first real ‘boutique, lifestyle’ hotel.
“The epitome of this approach is where he teamed up with Philippe Starck creating the Delano Hotel on South Beach, Miami, creating the first urban resort.”
HNN: What makes his designs so innovative and influential?
Peck: “It’s all about the customer, offering a unique experience and focusing on the hotel’s target market—with a strong emphasis on design. The concept moves the hotel from simply providing accommodation to a lively center of social activity.
“To quote Travel and Leisure, ‘It is possible that Ian Schrager has done more to bring design to the travel experience than any other living person—singlehandedly reinventing the hotel as a site of electrifying cultural significance.’”
HNN: Have you seen his influence play out in other properties?
Peck: “His influence is felt every day in the hotel design world, with every brand turning out its boutique or lifestyle sub brand, whether it be the W Hotels, Radisson Blu, 1 Hotels, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, Hotel Indigo, et cetera.
“One of the very successful new lifestyle brands is the Edition, rolled out by Marriott International, teaming up with Ian Schrager. Schrager is also developing his own brand, Public Hotels, an evolution of his original concept. In this case no pretense or artifice—just a focus on style, service and value.”
HNN: How do his designs enhance the overall guest experience?
Peck: “It adds a new dimension to the guest experience, stimulating them through creative design and offering them exciting places to network with their peers. An interesting environment in which to see and be seen.”
HNN: How do his designs speak to the era of hospitality in which they were created?
Peck: “Schrager plugged in to the popular culture of the time, which ironically is still very relevant to the Y Generation. His hotels focused on lobby socializing, very much part of the Y Gen lifestyle, with the lobby becoming a gathering place for hotel guests and outside visitors. The ambience was affordable luxury in a stylish and sophisticated environment.
“His hotels are ingrained in the fabric of city life and are as relevant now as when they were first created.”
Tim is driven by the art of architecture. As leader of our Island Living Studio he is instrumental in developing OBMI’s approach to design. Tim continually reinforces the need for a rigorous analysis of the culture and environmental influences of a site set alongside the economic drivers for the project; the tripartite of truly sustainable design. He can be reached at 305.537.7100.
